On this blog I'll post a daily forecast/report of the surf/windsurf conditions in Maui.
Email me if you need to rent a place in Maui or if you need a surf, SUP or windsurf lesson.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

1 11 16 morning call

Yesterday was an epic day for me and it was just by pure luck.

That SW swell that Pat Caldwell mentioned out of the tropical storm Pali did materialize. Because of the contemporary big NW swell, the SW one was masked at the buoys.
I didn't even check the Lahaina webcam before leaving (beginner mistake). I was only focused on finding a spot where to surf on the north shore. Upon failing that task, I thought about turning it into a photo shooting day. Little I knew what I was going to head into.

Fisrt session was a Launiupoko.
There were some overhead sets and it was surreal. It didn't look like Launiupoko at all.
Here's a clip to show you guys. The wave is not overhead, but you'll see what I mean.

Second session was even better. This is the spot and this guy was having too much fun, so I put the foam rib pad inside my top and joined him. Smooth water and longboard and foam pad are ok for my ribs.

I gave the wave in the clip below a 7. Before that, I rode a 10. You can imagine my facial expression when I checked the camera and realized I didn't record it.
No you can't. I was actually laughing the whole paddle back out. And the fact that I didn't record it had nothing to do with it. It was immediately kicked out of my mind by the emotions the ride left in me. A mix of disbelief (did that just happened?) and overwhelming elatedness.
In other words, sorry guys, but not really.
Hope you enjoy this one. When you don't see the front of the board, it's because I'm nose riding. Something like that.

On my way back, completely satisfied, I had to pull over to shoot this extremely fickle spot that was going off. That kind of set me in the mood for hunting again.

To cut it short (too late for that!), I ended up scoring a delightful sunset session at a waist high super fast left peeler. When I thought I was done, I moved to the next peak to catch another one in. The sun was about to set over the mountain and the color of the water did the lovely thing it does at that time of the day.
I ended up catching three more waves. Shoulder high and a lot more doable.

Today was a very special day for me. It just kept giving gifts. And I kept receiving them.

Well that was the baby stuff. Now we move on to the men's stuff.
This first one demands no comment.

Made it out, but his hair got wet.

The body boarders were killing it.

Nugget.

This guy had this very relaxed tall stance the whole wave.

Until, many shots later, he unleashed this.

I'd be claiming it too.

The barrel section was mostly the inside, but the drops were twice the size.

More men's stuff was going on at Jaws. Since it wasn't giant, I heard reports of 70+ people in the lineup. Photo by John Patao. Check the one off the back.

Before we jump into today's analysis, I have to quickly elaborate on the missed SW swell call.

Here's the maps of Jan 7 and 8. I circled the fetch in blue and yes, I completely missed it. After that the fetch got a lot smaller but the storm is still there and I'll sure keep an eye on it now.
The reason we got so much energy from this one (Maui bigger than Oahu, it seems), it's because of the SW direction that was not blocked by Kahoolawe like it always happen with the south swells.

The buoys graph shows a little decline from yesterday's readings, but not by much.
Pauwela still reads 11.7ft @ 14s from 334° (NNW) at 5am, so similar sizes to yesterday are to be expected on the north shore. Just a tad smaller (because of 1-2 seconds less in the period)

The SW buoys reads:
5.5ft @ 14s from 338° (NNW)

5.2ft @ 10s from 224° (SW)

2.1ft @ 18s from 311° (NW)

and that middle reading is the first one I see of the SW swell at the buoys. Yesterday it was all masked by the NW swell. The period in the water yesterday was higher, more like 13, so probably today it should be a bit smaller, but 5f 10s is still a really fun size.
The Lahaina webcam at 7am shows plenty size.

Today's wind map shows the next storm in line entering the playground and offering a strong NW fetch. Down south the back part of the fetch we have noticed the past three days might still send us something for next weekend's south swell.
I also put a tiny circle on the section of tropical storm Pali that has winds oriented towards us, but compare it to the two maps from the 7th and 8th and you'll agree that in this case is really nothing.

MC2km maps not updated yet, but it should be another windless day.

PS. I'm back in the water and that means I'm back on the road. I did post a quick update yesterday once I figured out what was going on on the south shore, but not many people saw it. Well, start checking again, because from now on, I'll post updates from the road as much as I can.
PPS. No, I didn't forget to write any spot names.

Maui webcams

Plenty availability of studios and apts in Paia and the north shore.

About Me

Born and raised in Italy, I became an engineer and worked 11 years in the IT industry. Sick of that, in 2001 I wanted to take a year off and spend it in Maui, the best windsurfing spot in the world. Not only I'm still here (in Maui), but I also got into surfing. And the stoke is flying high. Life is too short to work 8 hours a day...